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Crafter.Margin
Business

Maker Hourly Rate Calculator

Written by Maya Reeves. Reviewed 2026-04-21.

Every calculator on this site asks for your hourly rate. This one backs into the defensible number from income, overhead, and the hours you actually work. Use the result everywhere else.

The math is not complicated. It just requires honesty about your target income, your real billable hours (not your total shop hours), your overhead, and your blended tax rate. Five minutes of input gives you a number you can justify to a customer if someone asks.

Step 1 of 3: Income

Presets

Income and hours

Your target take-home, and how many billable hours you actually work.

$

What you want to keep after taxes and business costs.

Actual shop work, not admin or scrolling Instagram.

Subtract vacation and holidays.

%

US makers typically land around 25% to 30% blended federal + state + self-employment.

Quick answer

A side-hustle targeting $20k with 10 billable hours a week needs about $47 per hour at minimum. A full-time maker targeting $45k with 25 billable hours and a $400 health insurance bill needs about $70 per hour. An established shop doing $75k with 30 hours lands near $75 per hour.

How to use this calculator

  1. Target take-home income. What you want to keep after taxes and business costs. Start with living expenses plus 15%.
  2. Billable hours per week and weeks per year. Be honest. Most craft sellers do 15 to 25 billable hours of shop work weekly and take 3 to 4 weeks off per year.
  3. Overhead. Studio or storage space, software subscriptions, and health insurance if the shop is your only income.
  4. Blended tax rate. 25% to 30% for most US sellers. Includes federal, state, and 15.3% self-employment tax.
  5. Use the recommended rate. Plug it into every product calculator on this site as your hourly rate input.

Three real scenarios

Side hustle at $20k

Seller works 10 billable hours a week, 48 weeks a year. No separate health insurance since her day job covers it. Overhead is $150 a month for a small storage unit, $30 for Adobe. Taxes 15% because the shop income stays in a low bracket on top of her W-2 work.

Annual overhead adds to $2,160. Target plus overhead is $22,160. Pre-tax needed is $26,070. Divided by 480 billable hours, minimum rate is $54. Recommended is $70, premium $87. She drops $70 into every craft calculator and her prices land in the right range for Etsy.

Full-time maker at $45k

Target take-home $45,000. 25 billable hours a week, 48 weeks. Overhead: $350 studio, $50 software, $400 marketplace health insurance. Taxes 28% blended.

Annual overhead is $9,600. Pre-tax need is $75,833. Divided by 1,200 billable hours, minimum rate is $63. Recommended is $82, premium is $101. She uses $82 in all pricing and $101 for rush-order custom quotes.

Established shop at $75k

Target $75,000. 30 billable hours over 50 weeks. Overhead: $800 for a small leased studio, $80 software stack, $500 health insurance. Taxes 30%.

Annual overhead $16,560. Pre-tax need $130,800. Divided by 1,500 billable hours, minimum rate $87. Recommended $113. Premium $139. This shop runs wholesale accounts where $87 works, retail Etsy where $113 works, and custom commissions at $139.

What goes into the price

Four levers, one formula. Target income plus annual overhead, divided by one minus tax rate, divided by billable hours. That gives minimum rate. Recommended is 1.3 times minimum. Premium is 1.6 times minimum.

Inputs and how each moves the rate.
InputDirection
Income target upRate up
Billable hours upRate down
Overhead upRate up
Tax rate upRate up

Reference: common scenarios

Ballpark recommended rates at common income targets, reviewed 2026-04-21.
Target incomeBillable hr/wkRecommended $/hr
$15,0008$60
$20,00010$70
$30,00020$55
$45,00025$82
$60,00030$95
$75,00030$113
$100,00035$135

What to do if your number looks off

  • Rate over $100/hr feels unrealistic. Check billable hours. If you said 10 hours a week but really work 20, the rate halves. Track actual shop time for two weeks.
  • Rate under $25/hr. Either income target is too low or overhead is undercounted. Most full-time craft sellers need $60+ to stay in business.
  • Burnout warning fires. Over 30 billable hours a week adds up to 1,500+ billable hours a year, which is more than most full-time freelancers do. Watch for it.
  • Tax rate over 40%. Unusual for most US sellers. Double-check with an accountant. Typical blended rate is 25% to 30%.

FAQs

Sources

  1. IRS self-employment tax rate (15.3%), irs.gov/self-employment, reviewed 2026-04-21.
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics average wage data for craft occupations, bls.gov/oes, reviewed 2026-04-21.
  3. Healthcare.gov marketplace average premium data, reviewed 2026-04-21.
  4. Crafter Margin quarterly seller survey on billable hours, methodology page.

Is this right for you?

Now price a product

Plug the recommended rate into the sublimation or HTV calculator.

Sublimation pricing

Plan monthly sales

See how many units you need to cover fixed costs at your new rate.

Break-even calculator

Budget a shop

Add the hourly rate overhead to startup cost planning.

Startup cost calculator

Three real scenarios

See the same calculator pre-filled with seller inputs we actually use.

Side hustle

$20k target, 10 hr/wk.

Overhead
$180/mo
Tax
15%
Recommended$70/hr

Good for evenings and weekends.

Full-time

$45k target, 25 hr/wk.

Overhead
$800/mo
Tax
28%
Recommended$82/hr

Standard for full-time craft.

Established

$75k target, 30 hr/wk.

Overhead
$1,380/mo
Tax
30%
Recommended$113/hr

Use $87 wholesale, $113 retail, $139 rush.

Read next

calculator

Break-even Calculator

Units per month to cover fixed costs.

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cross calculator

Sublimation Pricing

Apply your new rate to a real product.

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guide

What to charge per hour as a maker

Deeper walkthrough with sample calculations.

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reference

Startup cost calculator

Budget a full sublimation setup.

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Want to see how we calculate this? Read our methodology.